Melbourne, FL (Florida Today) -- The manatees are full of macroalgae; the pelicans packed with
parasites. Both continue to die in growing numbers in Brevard County,
with potential answers still weeks away.

"We're
at 80 right now," Kevin Baxter, a spokesman with the Fish and Wildlife
Research Institute, said Monday of the manatees that have mysteriously
died in Brevard since July.

That includes 25 carcasses found between March 10 and March 21 alone, Baxter said.

The
sea cows have been drowning, with signs of shock and intestinal
problems. Their carcasses appear otherwise healthy, but their digestive
tracts are filled with thick drift algae, also called macroalgae, and
not much of their usual seagrass staple diet.

Seagrass
has dwindled sharply, virtually vanished in the lagoon, after a
phytoplankton "superbloom" decimated most of the plant in 2011. A brown
algae bloom that followed further shocked the lagoon system.

Excess
algae can grow when too many nutrients from fertilizer runoff, septic
tanks, the atmosphere and other sources enter the estuary.

Biologists
have yet to identify any pathoghen, algae toxin or other substance
that's killing the manatees or pelicans and aren't sure whether the two
die-offs are even related.

Dead cormorants, a few bottlenose dolphins and redfish also have been reported recently in Brevard.

At least 230 pelicans have died in the county in the past several weeks.

Tests at the U.S. Geological Survey's National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wis., have yet to yield many answers.

The
first group of pelicans, received at the USGS lab on Feb. 22, tested
negative for botulism, said Anne Ballmann, wildlife disease specialist
at the lab. "There was some botulism concerns originally," Ballman said.
"We have not been able to confirm botulism."

The
dead birds found here have been very thin. But botulism generally kills
birds quickly, leaving little time for the pelicans to become
emaciated.

The USGS lab is culturing samples to test for bacteria and viruses as well, which should take a few weeks, Ballmann said.

Florida
wildlife officials have notified the National Oceanographic and
Atmospheric Administration to see whether the manatee deaths meet the
criteria to trigger that federal agency to conduct its own formal
investigation.

Warm temperatures in 2012 resulted in fewer manatees dying in Florida than the previous three years.

But
a red tide lingering off Southwest Florida since September has killed a
record 184 manatees in that part of the state so far this year. But no
other significant fish kills, algae blooms or other toxic events that
could kill birds have been reported recently in Brevard.

How to help

What to do if you see sick, dead or injured wildlife:

FWC's Wildlife Alert Hotline: 888-404-3922.

It is not advisable to handle any sick or dead birds or other wildlife, but citizens should report them at MyFWC.com